Tarnish was constantly testing his limits in more ways than one. As he grew, becoming almost indistinguishable from an adult, he took to venturing to further territories. He also started tangling with not only larger prey, but larger predators. Tarnish crouched down beneath the brush and eyed the massive snake that was strangling some sort of deer-like creature. It had died moments before and now it seemed the snake was going to consume it. Raiders didn't think twice about stealing and Tarnish had no problem scavenging and thieving his meals in addition to hunting.

The snake started to swallow its prey head first and Tarnish slunk closer before diving forward and snagging one of the deer's back legs. He swiftly started to pull though the snake's curved teeth held firm and it was not amused. With a swift shuffle its coils unwound and sought out new prey. Oops.

Raider Brats

Lingering within the eastern territories of Boreas, Rhazien was completing a scouting mission for his dearest little nephew. So far, he hadn’t seen too much- but this waterside forest, consumed with the scent of muck and sea salt, which wasn’t very intriguing. Still, he would diligently work- scouting the area for anything of interest, wanting to have something to report to Sephiran, upon his return.

As he came around a bend, he was finally met with the something he was looking for. A massive snake, larger than any he had seen before, was trying to choke down a deer. And, on the other side of it, was a younger wolf trying to rip the carcass from it’s jaws. Rhazien released a deep, throaty laugh- amused by the kid's determination, even though he was acting as a scavenger.

Approaching out of boredom and the thrill of a potential kill, Rhazien sauntered forward from the opposing side of the serpent. Lunging forward, he grabbed onto its tail end- sinking his serrated fangs through its scaley skin, which brought out a sinister hiss from the serpent.  

"Speech"

Tarnish was too stubborn to let go right away, instead he tried to balance himself, claws lashing out at the snake but dang was it strong. Suddenly a large, dark-pelted man appeared behind the snake and grabbed ahold of its rear, pulling its coils sharply back. Grinning Tarnish relinquished his hold on the dear and bounded toward the snake itself, his claws lashed out at its face. Suddenly the snake coiled back, regurgitating what it had started to eat. Uh oh, Tarnish scrambled to the side as the snake lashed out with its fangs, trying to turn him into the next meal. Tar, twisted and bounced, landing on the back of the snake's…. neck? Boy the whole thing seemed like a neck! Fangs latched in behind its head and he held on, eyes glancing back and forth to try and predict when a coil would launch for him.

Raider Brats

With his bite to the serpent’s tail end, it reflexively started to uncoil.- releasing its hold on the deer carcass, and shifting its attention to the predators boldly attacking it. Of course, it had to regurgitate part of the carcass out first- the sound alone caused his snout to crinkle, because it sounded repulsive. The movement forced Rhazien to release his hold- but he wouldn’t do so, without a fight. Violently shaking his head, and using his serrated fags. He sawed through the snake’s flesh until he ripped the tip of its tail clean off.

Stumbling back, it took him a few steps to regain his footing. The snake was lashing out at the other wolf, and through the chunk of meat in his jaws, Rhazien laughed. Finding the boy amusing, as he lunged back at the snake and attacked its neck, just behind its head. Dropping the tail tip, Rhazien lunged forward- attacking the serpent from the side, wanting to gouge out a hole large enough for entrails to weep out.  

"Rhazien Saxe"

Tar's claws dug in deep, all four sets of his cat-like claws hooking into the snake's flesh. It attempted to coil back in on itself so it could wrap muscle and strangle the boy but the large wolf on the tail prevented such an attack. Tarnish couldn't see what was going on behind him but the snake's hind end, what was left of it, suddenly coiled up and a strangling hiss of pain alerted the boy to the serious damage being done but he didn't dare let go. Instead he worked his jaws along the snakes neck, shredding flesh as he went until his jaw's clamped onto the back of the skull. Bone hit bone. As Tarnish clamped his jaws tighter he could hear the bone starting to crack and the serpent twisting and writhing beneath him. He had never considered killing another predator before. It had always been an attempt to drive whatever it was away, but this time he meant to end this creature with the other man's help.

Raider Brats

Tearing into the serpent’s scaley skin, Rhazien gouged out a hole big enough for entrails to weep out. But of course, it didn’t spill out onto the ground as he anticipated it would...  and that was due to the snake’s anatomy, because it was a long, tubular creature. Admittedly, Rhazien was a little disappointed. He loved making a gory mess out of his enemies. The splattered blood across his face and chest as an attestation to that, and so what his relentless assault on the serpent.

And finally, with their combined efforts, the beast would become limp. Slumped down in a growing puddle of blood, internal organs scattered around it like decor. He couldn’t help but smile at the carnage- licking the sinew from his lips, as he turned to face the boy. “Ever killed a snake that big before?” He inquired, as he gravitated towards the youngster. Analyzing him more closely, trying to decipher if he was familiar at all. He had cat claws, which was interesting. Did all the wolves in these lands have weird mutations?

"Speech"

Tar's jaws shifted, grating on bone until suddenly the serpent's skull crushed between his jaws, squishing out between his teeth and filling his mouth with an unusual taste. He held on tight, resisting the urge to let go until the snake's spasms shuddered to a slow and weakening rhythm. He imagined, since he'd crushed its brain, there's still be some twitching even though the thing was dead. He steadied himself, released the anaconda's head and then bounded away, spinning around and eyeing it for a moment. Holey shit, they killed it!

“Ever killed a snake that big before?”

He looked over at the unfamiliar man and shook his head. He licked the blood from his teeth as he glanced at the extensive damage the other man had done. Fixating on the sudden ending of the serpent. "Whoa! You bit its whole butt off, that's awesome!" He bounded over to the back of the snake, marveling at the strangeness of its build. It was still writhing, albeit slowly but he paid it little attention. Growing up a raider he was not phased by violence. One of his earliest memories was his father tormenting a trespasser to near death before allowing Tarnish and two of his sisters to rip the man's gums apart and extract a canine tooth as a keepsake.

He looked back at the man. "My name's Tarnish. Do you fight a lot of giant snakes?"



Raider Brats

After taking a closer look at the boy, his gaze shifted back to the serpent, intrigued by the twitching corpse. He realized its head had been crushed, obviously by the boy which he found delightful. The smirk on his face grew wider, obsidian steel fangs shimmering in the sunlight. If this boy was able to commit such violence at an early age.... How exciting. It made him wonder what type of environment this boy lived in, and where it was.

His comment brought out another rumble of laughter from Rhazien, his multi-hued gaze shifting back to the boy. “Once or twice,” He said, cryptic as always. Jotting down the boy’s name in his memory, matching it to his scent and face. He couldn't help but look at those cat claws again. Oh, the potential. “I’m Rhazien.” He was still analyzing Tarnish, trying to decipher if he was going to let him go, or try and capture him for their brood. “You from around here? Or did you come looking for a serpent to rob? But first, he needed to know if this boy already belonged to someone- couldn’t go stirring up too much trouble, just yet.  

"Rhazien Saxe"

Tarnish looked up at the man, impressed that the older wolf had already fought off several of these large snakes. Tar didn't know how he felt. Part of him wished to never be in that situation again but the other part relished the idea. He loved the thrill of it and felt pride warming his chest at making such an impressive kill. His father was going to be amazed!

The older male introduced himself as Rhazien and asked if he was from around these parts. Tarnish shook his head. "No, I'm from down south. I live on the islands, but I wanted to go exploring." He shrugged lightly. The pirate pups had always been free range kids, left to roam where they would as long as they made it back by dinner time. Granted, Tarnish wasn't 100% sure that is parents were ok with that but most of the time they didn't cause a fuss unless someone got into really big trouble.

"What about you? Do you live around here?"



Raider Brats